Zhu (percussion instrument)

Zhu ( Chinese  柷 , Pinyin zhù ; Wade-Giles chu ), German also beat box , is since the pre-Qin period known traditional Chinese wooden percussion instrument . In the classification of the eight sounds ( bayin ), the impact idiophone is assigned to the wooden instruments. Already in the chapter Yi Ji ( 益 稷  - "Yi and Ji") of the Book of Documents ( Shangshu ) the box is mentioned.

It is a box that widens towards the top with trapezoidal side walls; the sound is produced with a mallet that is struck against its inner wall. The instrument was used in courtly sacred music ( yǎyuè ) and played at the beginning. It is also known in Korean ritual music, in Korea it is called ch'uk .

literature

• Yang Yinliu (Ed.): Zhongguo yinyue cidian (Dictionary of Chinese Music). Beijing 1984

See also

• List of traditional Chinese musical instruments

Web links

• Zhu . ( Memento from February 9, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) chinamedley.com (Chinese)